Everybody from the coaches to the players to the fans know the situation this week. The Chicago Bears defense faces the biggest task of its young season on Sunday. They face the New England Patriots who boast the #4 scoring offense in football. Their leader Tom Brady will be in the Hall of Fame five years after he retires. Playing against them is something few defenses ever live to tell about.
The Bears should know. The last two times their defense has played against New England, it’s been a disaster. In 2010 they gave up 36 points at Soldier Field and four years later it was even worse, allowing 51 in Foxborough. Brady has never and will never show mercy to opponents who let him do what he wants. He’s going to try and annihilate Chicago.
The Bears haven’t beaten him in four opportunities. It’s possible this might be their last chance and it’s going to take a strong defensive effort to pull off. It feels like a herculean task, especially with Khalil Mack uncertain due to an ankle injury. However, this situation may be overlooking two advantages they have. Their names are Akiem Hicks and Danny Trevathan.
Bears defense could benefit hugely from presence of Hicks and Trevathan
If last week proved anything, having people who know you can be a huge advantage. The Bears defense was shredded by the Miami Dolphins. Is it not possible that’s because they had Adam Gase and Dowell Loggains running the show, two former offensive coordinators of the team who coached against Vic Fangio in practice all the time? Stuff like that matters.
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This is why having Hicks and Trevathan can be so big. Those two men offer similar advantages thanks to their intimate knowledge of the Patriots offense. Hicks practiced against it as a member of New England’s defense in 2015. He understands how Brady operates and also how offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels runs the show.
As for Trevathan, he played against Brady often when he was with the Denver Broncos from 2012 to 2015. He knows what it took to slow the mighty quarterback down as he told the Chicago Sun-Times.
“[Brady’s] one of the greats,” Trevathan said. “[Our young players have] been seeing him play for a while. You’ve just got to be on your P’s and Q’s. You can’t give him little things. And you have to lock into your man, lock him down, and you can’t let him get the advantage and go out and just throw the ball around. You’ve got to make him uncomfortable and make the plays when they come.”
It’s what he remembers the Broncos doing in their victories against Brady.
“I remember just getting after him and just being on our P’s and Q’s and executing our plays to the best of our ability,” Trevathan said. “Everybody was just homing in and buying into every play.”
In the three home games that Trevathan played against the Patriots in 2014 and 2015, the Broncos managed to hold them to 16, 24, and 18 points respectively. That proves it is certainly possible. Granted, Denver offers a slightly more distinct home field advantage due to the altitude adjustment but the point is it’s possible to at least slow Brady down.
Since 2015, the Patriots are 3-7 when they’ve been held to 20 points or less. They are a team that runs through the offense. When they can’t score enough, it’s difficult for them to win. The Patriots defense is banged up and ranks only 21st in the NFL. They aren’t what one would call a suffocating unit, relying on an ability to force turnovers.
The Bears defense has a chance to make a statement in this game and they have plenty of experience among their number on how to do it.
